Chapter 75
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: The Panties Incident
I'd invited her home, but.
"What the hell am I supposed to do?"
Choi Ye-won had gone back to her place to grab some booze.
I attended my afternoon classes while racking my brain over how to handle this.
But no matter how much I thought about it, no brilliant ideas came to mind.
What good is thinking alone?
I'd never invited a girl over before.
In the end, not even a decent plan emerged.
Had I cleaned properly?
Yeah, I had.
I cleaned every day without fail.
I headed home with Choi Ye-won, who had brought the alcohol.
"Come on in. It's a mess, but make yourself at home."
I unlocked the door and let Choi Ye-won inside.
"Pardon the intrusion..."
Choi Ye-won seemed a bit tense as she neatly took off her shoes and stepped in.
Bringing a girl into my one-room apartment was nerve-wracking for me too.
Even if she was a longtime female friend I'd known forever, this was the first time inviting her over.
The awkwardness made my usual jokes stick in my throat.
But I played it cool on the outside.
"Set your stuff down first. Get comfortable and change into something easy."
"Uh, yeah."
She put down her bag and looked around.
"Your room's so clean. I figured a guy's place alone would reek."
"I clean regularly. And..."
I pulled the air freshener she'd bought me out of the shopping bag.
I tore off the packaging and spritzed the spray-type freshener once.
Hiss-.
The same scent from the lakeside garden earlier filled the room.
It smelled subtly different indoors.
A slightly artificial fragrance permeated the space.
"Now it'll be filled with the scent you picked, so it should be even better."
A smile spread across Choi Ye-won's lips at my action.
"What, using it right away?"
"You gave it to me. Hoarding it would just be a waste."
"Tch, still feels good."
The cool, faint fragrance spread gently.
The air in the room began to shift little by little.
"Smells nice."
Choi Ye-won's expression softened as she wrinkled her nose to sniff it.
Her tension easing.
Her stiff shoulders relaxed, and she started looking around the place more leisurely.
We set out a small table and sat down.
Traditional liquor from Jeju Island. Pretty high proof.
The side dishes were delivery yukhoe and salmon.
The yukhoe and salmon I'd ordered ahead of time arrived shortly after we got home.
Alcohol and snacks to ease the awkward air.
We didn't usually drink much due to workouts and health routines, but tonight, both of us willingly sat down to loosen up a bit.
"It's been forever since we drank together. Like three years?"
"Yeah. Last time was when I enlisted, so yeah, it's been that long."
"Crazy. Can't believe we haven't had a drink since then."
"Neither of us drinks often anyway."
We smiled awkwardly and filled our glasses.
As I poured, the sweet aroma of the grain liquor freshly filled the space.
The booze scent tickling my nose.
But what stimulated me more was.
'Perfume smell.'
The perfume wafting from Choi Ye-won's hand.
A seductive scent that teased and aroused men.
A fragrance I hadn't noticed earlier was now emanating from her body.
When we first met today, it was just shampoo.
But after going home, she'd picked up this alluring perfume scent.
As I sniffed it, her slightly flushing face told me.
She'd chosen this perfume on purpose.
She didn't say it outright, but the vibe was there.
In fact.
Her face said she was looking forward to tonight.
The mood.
The subtle anticipation mixed into her expression aroused me.
I was probably wearing a similar look.
We forced down the excitement blooming on each other's faces and raised our glasses.
"Cheers."
The clear clink of glasses echoed in the room.
Gulp.
"Whew, that's strong."
"Right? It's 40 proof. Sip it like it's tasty, and it'll hit you fast."
Choi Ye-won grinned mischievously and refilled my glass.
Right after a light bite of snacks, she topped off my glass again.
Normally, she'd chat slowly over drinks, but tonight's Choi Ye-won was different.
No patience.
Her face screamed she just wanted to get me drunk ASAP.
One glass, two.
As the potent booze kicked in, the awkward vibe vanished, replaced by our old comfortable banter.
School gossip, badmouthing professors, old memories.
But as the alcohol coursed through our veins, a sticky tension hidden beneath the comfort began to surface.
Choi Ye-won's cheeks flushed pink.
Her relaxed eyes lingered on me longer.
"Jinwoo."
"Yeah?"
"About that air freshener earlier."
She fiddled with her glass and spoke up.
"Do you know why I picked that scent?"
"Dunno. Matches me well?"
"Hehe, yeah. But there's an even better reason."
She scooted closer, dragging her butt across the floor.
A sweet mix of perfume and alcohol wafted over.
Her face drew near.
"Because I like the smell of you when it's on."
"..."
Choi Ye-won grinned slyly.
Her smile subtly tempted me.
"I picked it so I could keep smelling it. I wanted my chosen scent to seep into your body."
"You wanted to rub your picked scent all over me?"
"Exactly."
Sniff sniff.
Ye-won pressed her face to my body and inhaled.
The subtle desire on her face grew thicker, fueled by the booze.
"Smells good."
Her hot sigh burst from her lips onto my skin.
A sigh laced with alcohol.
She inhaled deeply again and stared straight at me.
"But hey."
"Yeah?"
"Am I seriously the first girl you've brought home?"
"What're you talking about?"
"...I smell a woman."
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me.
"Woman smell?"
"Yeah, faint, but definitely there. Some perfume I don't know."
She didn't hide her jealousy at all.
Maybe the booze—words she'd normally swallow were spilling out freely.
"There was a smell?"
My heart dropped.
Han Chae-ah.
Yesterday with her. And this morning, tossing her panties in the laundry.
Had the scent lingered?
No way, right?
If she found out another girl's panties were in the washer right now, in this mood.
What face would Choi Ye-won make?
What would happen to the vibe?
My mind went blank.
"Never happened."
I hadn't invited anyone.
We'd just hooked up elsewhere.
Sex in the special lounge space.
But not at my place.
Not a lie, but guilt hit anyway.
"Good enough."
I half-ignored the system message and looked at her smiling face.
Her booze-flushed smile looked more seductive than ever.
"Honestly, other women's scents... I hate them. I want only my scent on you."
"Ye-won."
"That's why I bought that air freshener... I picked it so only the smell I chose would linger on you. In your room, on your body... just my scent."
Her confession was blunt, packed with raw possessiveness.
A declaration to erase other women's traces and leave her own.
I set down my glass and stared her straight in the eye.
No excuses or panic here.
I had to welcome her jealousy gladly.
The system said it too.
Use her possessiveness and jealousy.
"So, how is it now?"
"...Huh?"
"Still smell something unfamiliar?"
I spread my arms and leaned closer.
"Check it out. I coated everything with what you gave me."
Choi Ye-won hesitated, then stood and came to my side.
She buried her face near my nape.
Sniff sniff.
Her nose tip brushed my skin.
Each inhale sent her hot breath tickling my collarbone.
"...No."
After a long sniff, she lifted her head.
Our eyes met.
Too close.
"No more. Just the cool scent."
"Good."
"But..."
Her gaze dropped to my lips.
"Your heart's pounding so hard. I can hear it."
Same for me.
Heart thumping like it would burst.
Desire reflected in each other's eyes.
The mood heated up.
The tipsy buzz from moderate drinking numbed reason.
Urging us to give in to desire.
Ultimate tension.
In that tantalizing edge, about to cross the line.
Our breaths nearly touching.
So close, yet not.
"U-um, Jinwoo."
Ye-won spoke up.
"Yeah?"
"I-I need the bathroom..."
Too much to drink?
Or overheating tension?
Choi Ye-won stood with flushed face.
Like cooling off, she staggered to the bathroom.
I splashed cold water on my face to calm the heat.
Heart pounding.
Could I let her go tonight? No, I didn't want to.
Desire to hold her all night dominated my mind.
The moment she entered the bathroom.
A chill ran down my spine.
Wait.
'Han Chae-ah's panties... where did I put them?'
On top of the laundry.
Washer's in the bathroom.
If open, visible even just washing face.
'Shit.'
Had I left the washer door open?
I usually did to avoid moisture.
If Ye-won saw it?
Another woman's panties.
Her with the strongest possessiveness.
I jumped up and rushed to the bathroom door.
"Ye-won, can I come in?"
No answer.
She wasn't passed out drunk.
We hadn't drunk that much.
This was.
Uneasy thoughts raced.
Door wasn't locked.
Click.
Door opened.
"...Ye-won."
Choi Ye-won stood frozen at the sink.
Head down, long hair hiding her face.
The mood was eerily cold.
The shy, thrilling air gone, sharp silence hung heavy.
She saw it.
Damn it, she did.
Washer door open.
White panties that should've been inside—gone.
The ones from yesterday, still carrying that lewd scent not washed out.
"What's wrong? Stomach bothering you?"
I approached, pretending ignorance.
She slowly raised her head.
Her eyes were ice cold.
Like facing a stranger—contempt and betrayal mixed.
Her right hand slowly rose.
"What's this?"
In her hand.
White lace panties.
The ones I'd taken from Han Chae-ah, tossed unwashed in the basket.
"...!"
Breath caught.
Of course.
She saw.
"It was on top of the washer. Not even hidden."
Her voice was dry. Terrifyingly so.
"Jinwoo. Explain."
"Th-that's..."
"Not your mom's. No little sister."
She shoved the panties in my face.
"Smells weird. This isn't just any panties. That smell... only happens for one reason."
"..."
"When? How long..."
She let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha, when I said I smelled something earlier... you denied it. Sprayed freshener to reassure me."
"Ye-won, hear me out. That was..."
"Liar."
She flung the panties to the floor.
"Who'd you roll around with before I came? While I was in Jeju shopping for you, you were stripping some bitch's panties?"
Tears welled in her eyes, but her voice dripped venom.
"Who? That Jung So-yul you pretended was your cousin? Or Han Chae-ah from back then? Looked cozy with your junior. You who ignores our dept girls?"
"..."
"While I agonized over gifts, you were peeling off trash like this."
Situation spiraling to worst.
Make excuses?
Come clean?
But fumbling now, she'd bolt.
Maybe never see me again.
To turn this around.
Only way: face it head-on.
"Yeah. Another woman's panties."
"Ha, it really was. You're trash."
"So what?"